Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing St. Elsewhere, a medical show which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1988.  The show can be found on Hulu and, for purchase, on Prime!

This week, St. Elsewhere makes history.

Episode 2.9 “AIDS and Comfort”

(Dir by Victor Lobl, originally aired on December 21st, 1983)

A city councilman named Anthony Gifford (Michael Brandon) has checked into St. Eligius under an assumed name.  He’s complaining about fatigue.  His lymph nodes are swollen.  His immune system seems to be shutting down.  Dr. White and Dr. Westphall look at the man’s x-rays and Dr. White says that it looks like Gifford might be suffering from a newly discovered disease that no one knows much about.  The name of that disease is AIDS.

“Could he be …. gay?”  Dr. White asks.

Westphall initially scoffs.  He points out that Gifford is married and has two children.  When Gifford is asked directly about his personal life, he admits to having affairs but is quick to say that they were all with women.  Westphall later says that Gifford is either lying or they’ve discovered something entirely new about the virus and they need to call the CDC….

Today, with all we know about HIV and AIDS, it’s a bit jarring to hear some of the dialogue in this episode.  Doing some research, I discovered that this was the first ever episode of network television to deal with the AIDS epidemic and that it aired at a time when there were still a lot of unanswered questions about how the disease was spread.  (For instance, the episode aired shortly after the HIV virus has been discovered.)

When words get out that Gifford is a patient at the hospital and that he has AIDS, panic erupts.  No one donates to the hospital’s blood drive because they’re scared the needles have somehow gotten infected.  Even usually sympathetic characters — like Luther and Dr. Fiscus — refuse to be anywhere near the isolation ward.  Gifford’s doctor, Peter White, requests that Gifford’s case be given to another doctor.  Later, White asks everyone is Westphall is mad at him.  Morrison replies that White acted unethically.  White blames his wife and her fears of him contracting the disease by being in the same room as Gifford.  (Not surprisingly, White is also the one who, because he won’t stop whining about his job, is responsible for word spreading about Gifford having AIDS.)

After spending nearly the entire episode denying it, Gifford finally admits to having had affairs with other men.  As he leaves the isolation ward, he’s besieged by reporters.  Getting in the elevator, he sees that someone has spray-painted “AIDS” on the wall.  Before he leaves, he asks Westphall how long he has.  Westphall grimly replies that most AIDS patients die within two years.

Later, while talking to Dr. Craig and Nurse Rosenthal, Westphall says, “Yeah, I know that’s how I felt about it at first. Then I started to think, Who am I? Why should any of us be penalized, fatally, for choosing a certain lifestyle, especially when you realize that it all boils down to chance anyway? And I tell you something I don’t give a damn for all this talk about morality and vengeful gods and all that. If you have AIDS, you’re sick, you need help. That’s all that matters. And that’s why we’re here, right?”

And yes, it’s a bit jarring to hear Westphall refer to being a gay as a “choosing a certain lifestyle,” but you again you have to consider when this episode aired and that it was also the first network television show to feature a storyline about AIDS.  When this episode aired, saying that “If you have AIDS, you’re sick, you need help …. that’s all that matters,” took a certain amount of courage.  For many viewers, this episode was probably the first they ever really heard about AIDS.

This episode dealt very honestly with AIDS.  It actually helped that all of the character didn’t have the type of “perfect” reaction that television shows often present characters as having.  Even Dr. Westphall, usually presented as being this show’s beacon of moral clarity, had to deal with his own prejudices.  When it comes to a controversial topic, television shows too often portray their lead characters as being saints.  This episode portrayed the staff of St. Elsewhere as being flawed and imperfect and, as such, it was a very effective and thought-provoking hour.